"Roots In Kashmir" is an initiative launched by us, the Kashmiri Pandit Youth, to reclaim our Roots that identify us. Even though we have been hounded out of our homes and hearths in the Kashmir valley, our "Roots" are very much anchored in the Vitasta Valley. This is an initiative to protest and raise the general awareness of public to a level where our "fight for our roots" is felt, heard and acted upon.
www.rootsinkashmir.org

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Human rights not an exclusive right of separatists, dear liberal media

Lot has been said in past few days over the situation in the valley. Liberal, leftist,

Socialites like Shobha De and media personalities like Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai have directly or indirectly supported anti-India or pro-Pakistan lobby of the valley, while most of the Indians have extended full support to armed forces and their action.

Shoba De, while advocating for the right to plebiscite of Kashmiri Muslims (I avoid using word only Kashmiris because 99.999% Kashmiri Hindus don't want any plebiscite) does not like to extend the same privileges to Raj Thackeray and his team, who have also been advocating for sons of soil in Mumbai and have indulged in insignificant violence when compared to the attrocities committed on the minority community in Kashmir.

Barkha Dutt on other hand has always been perceived as pro-separatist, pro-Islamabad journalist. What can be said about a journalist, who has tried to rationalise the Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits by cooking up false social inequality issues. Her statements were almost as similar as Nazis had a about Jews. https://youtu.be/uPZFmO2xL30

And many like Rajdeep Sardesai are demonizing our forces, just to be in the goods books of their liberal leftist club.

The situation is Valley is precarious, and both government and forces are stretched to their limits. But admirably they have held their nerves together. Unlike the riots in rest of India, where it is a clash of two groups, in Valley it had been the miniscule Kashmiri Pandits earlier and now the security forces who are the target of the attack.

Having myself witness to few such incidents in Kashmir, I know that forces show utmost restraint even at the cost of serious injuries to themselves. There has been a lot of noise about of the use of pellet guns and injuries it causes. The situation is so volatile in Valley today that had the same level of violence happened somewhere else in India, the death toll would have been in Hundreds. As per Gaurav Savant of India Today, "Nothing innocent/peaceful about stone Pelters. Pump action pellet gun deters them. Effective Non lethal crowd dispersal when CURFEW violated." While I am not sure if pellet guns are the best option, but they surely are better than bullets. And I would prefer few scars than epitaph.

People like Shoba De and Barkha Dutt don't hesitate to remind us about the human rights of rioters, but conveniently forget that even forces have the same rights. Even our jawans are sons, brothers and husband's. And unlike the jehadis of Valley, who die killing innocents, these jawans lay their life to save innocents.